Unpredictable
by alicecasket
Summary: Nyx Young was a normal girl, living the usual, uneventful life of a high school student. She isn't anything special, well, that's what most would say- then there wouldn't be a book on her, would there? Thanks in advance if you decide to read my work! Side note- I don't know how to work the character settings below so whatever you see might not be particularly right . . .
1. Chapter 1

Author's note~

Hello! I'm Alice, your author for this work, nice to meet cha! I would just like to warn you that this will be a looooog chapter, I'm not even kidding. Just so you know, I won't have any of the Yuri!!! On Ice characters in this chapter. It's more of a explanation chapter anyhow, lots of information. The chapter may seem a bit slow but I hope to make things flow faster once my oc is actually within the YOI universe, at least, that's what I'm hoping. By the way, I don't own any of the Yuri!!! On Ice characters. This is my first book if you can't tell, I will be updating in a somewhat spontaneous way, and without further interruptions, onto the story, enjoy!!!

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It had been as if the days seemed to blend together, bleed together, all the same boring sequence. First, the teenager would get up from her comfy bed, untangle her legs only to let the previous warmth she had attained escape from within the sheets. Then, she would sit there and contemplate whether or not she should play the sick card and stay home. If she felt, she would get up and go to retrieve her clothes for the day, a simple maroon shirt and a pair of black sweatpants that just barely appeared the smallest bit navy. She didn't mind, and the teachers hadn't ever stopped her before for a measly pair of pants.

After she had dressed, she went to brush her teeth and hair before briefly checking the mirror for how she may look, hopefully well enough.

At the first sight of her face, she paused, looking back at her was of a questionable species. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, damn . . .she hadn't even been thinking before she fell asleep about taking off her makeup. Of course, it was only a bit of mascara that had done the damage . . . With a sigh, the girl lethargically reached for a pack of wipes before using one on the smeared makeup and continuing her usual morning routine.

When the blonde had finished, she didn't seem any less tired and, if possible, she had felt twice as tired even after her rest.

Looking to the clock that was displayed across the glass screen of her phone, she held a look of mild disappointment, there was no time for her to sleep unless she missed her ride to the school.

Aside from the walk out into the cold air, she was relatively fine with walking a bit far to meet the person that drove their small white saturn down the girl's driveway each morning.

After a bit of walking, the girl had met the classmate, pulling the handle and opening the passenger door before sitting down. The car had been in good shape aside from its owner's forgetfulness for cleaning out any stray wrappers.

The boy sitting behind the wheel smiled brightly, "Hey friend!" Lucas always seemed to be so upbeat in the mornings, she almost couldn't help but to feel slightly happy being near her one and only real friend. Smiling a bit, she nodded before speaking in a slightly scratchy voice, "Hey person." Shutting the door behind herself, the girl got situated before leaning against the car window. The boy scoffed lightly, "I'm hurt, just person?" Of course, they always had a morning banter that brightened Nyx's mood a bit.

Though after that, there were no other words had been exchanged between the two for the rest of the ride.

"Miss Young, are you with us Miss Young?" the teacher spoke in a somewhat mirthful tone as he watched the dozing student slightly straighten up and look up in attention. A light shade of pink dusted her cheeks in her embarrassment as she shifted slightly, "Yeah, still here . . ." The brunette, Mr. Wilson smiled, a somewhat expecting expression fell upon his face, "Well, continue where Mister Jones left off." The awkward blonde had felt her heart skip as she looked to the page in the textbook that had contained numerous paragraphs . . . She hadn't even been listening beforehand. Nibbling at her lip, she frantically glanced at the dark words that were in fine print across the white page.

The sound of someone coughing caught Nyx's, formerly known as Miss Young's, attention. Nyx blinked, a few words spewed from the lips of her classmate in rushed, quiet words, causing the blonde to almost double take. Nyx had always thought she had great hearing, however, at the overly stressful moment, she hadn't caught a word and as if sensing her confusion, her classmate had coughed again, before drawing Nyx's attention to their finger which pointed to the third paragraph of the second page. Nyx quickly caught on before beginning to read, her previous anxiety washed away with her sense of stress, if only for a moment.

The day continued on in a similar fashion of the girl dozing off, though, she wasn't as pestered by teachers as before and, for that, she was grateful.

She was even more grateful when the final bell had rang and signaled the end of her day. Being that her final class was drug education, Nyx didn't find it particularly interesting at all, reading through the book and answering the sections' questions before moving onto yet another assignment.

Returning home wasn't much of a hassle as she simply rode the bus, sitting in the back in the one seater, against the window with a pair of earbuds playing music. Since Lucas was staying after school for his band practice and then a later meeting for his drama club. Anyhow, on most days she would have fallen asleep, though, fourth period had been a free period and so she felt refreshed from her thirty minute nap.

So, Nyx had settled for closing her eyes and letting her imagination work its magic of making her little daydreams and wishes seem so real, almost achievable. Daydreaming had always been a way for Nyx to relax and take things easy.

After she had gotten through the throwing war between the seniors and middle schoolers, Nyx had made it to the front ot the bus after it had pulled up at the long road that eventually led to the house in which the teenager had resided. A smile blossomed across her lips and she was off, down the road and toward her home. It was always a relief to be home.

That was how things were expected to go, she was supposed to come home to a small modest home that was the ever so chipping periwinkle shade but instead, she found her aunt standing in front of the light oak wood, her eyes set to glare at the man who had his arms crossed in a relaxed manner, as if oblivious to her aunts obvious unease. A sense of nerves began to swim at the pit of Nyx's stomach, why was there a stranger at their doorstep? Had her aunt gone and done something again? No, Aunt Lucy had promised and she never, never, broke her promises.

Curious eyes looked on at the scene before she sighed and looked forward in a nervous fashion, almost awkward way, "Am I interrupting something here or . . . ?" A hand came to fiddle with one of the bracelets that decorated her left wrist, a nervous habit of hers. Any other day, she would have been fine, confident even, though, that day had been less than enjoyable and the less sleep she had gotten, the more jumpy she would get.

Lucy looked up to see her niece, a lazy smirk replaced her once hostile look, "No, nothing at all, I was just taking care of something."

Taking in a breath the girl looked around for a moment before catching sight of what she assumed was the stranger's car. It was nicer than anything she had seen, though, that hadn't been what caught her attention. She had seen the slightest movement from within the car, someone sitting in the passenger seat, a woman with fiery hair watching intently through the windshield. Turning away from the sports car, she looked back to the conversation between the stranger and her aunt.

The man seemed to huff and grumble a few words beneath his breath before turning and taking hold of a piece of paper that had been slipped into the breast pocket of his suit.

That was a strange sight, why get all dressed up for . . . Whatever it was he was doing at her home? Nyx didn't dwell long on the detail before nodding slightly and continuing forward, walking passed the man and beside her aunt.

The man who had surprisingly golden locks of hair, maybe dyed even, shifted as her aunt reached for the folded paper, taking it in her grasp. Unfolding the paper, Nyx's curious eyes tried to steal a small glance at the paper, at least, until her aunt had folded up once again, "And as I said before, it'll take at the earliest til next week."

That was it, Nyx had visibly relaxed, this man wasn't trying to buy the land from beneath them or get her aunt in trouble . . . Just a customer. See, her aunt was a bit of a wedding planner and good at it too, though, not so open to the public as one might think. Aunt Lucy tended to stay with her little community of people. With that the man smiled, nodded, and before long, retreated to his silver sports car.

Nyx couldn't help but to feel the relief course through her body, sleep would be a fine thing, and so, she passed by her aunt and into the home. Through the living room, down the hallway and last door to the right, and she was back in her tangle of blankets, bookbag discarded in the living room. Her aunt would no doubt complain later, but that was later. Nyx closed her eyes and fell asleep.

When she had woken up again, she was faced with the dim light of her multicolored Christmas lights that she had used from the year before. Rolling over, Nyx had patted around the bed and eventually found her glasses which had been discarded from her face. The dark turtle shell patterns along them would go with everything she wore and the big frames would keep her from the bothersome habit of looking over the glasses' frames and making the whole purpose of wearing them void. That and she liked how they appeared, Nyx put them on her face, avoiding her now tangled locks of dirty blonde.

Tired eyes blinked a few moments before she was finally able to wake up enough to sit up, letting the comforter fall around her legs. She looked around for the sticker infested black case of her phone and before long she had finally shifted around enough to find said object. "Gotcha~" she sang out triumphantly as she gripped the surface of the device. Clicking the power button, she found that it was far later than she had expected, eleven at night.

Hmm, curious, she would have expected her aunt to wake her up by eight at the latest. Maybe she did and Nyx didn't remember it. She had definitely done that before. Otherwise, Nyx had only ever woken up because she had something to worry about. It wasn't as if she had any homework to worry about so that was out of the question. Nyx checked off the various classes she had, math was done, there was no homework for drug ed and health, she had already done the papers . . .

Her eyes widen and as if suddenly filled with energy, she jolted upward, almost falling over herself as she did so. Her health science project was due the next day! And while the teacher may have been more pleasant than that of the rest, she wasn't very lenient with slackers who had over two weeks to make a poster on the given assignment. Of course Nyx hadn't waited til the last minute for everything but without the poster board . . . There wasn't much of a project to look at, only sheets of paper that had been numbered and filled with as many words as she had found useful. That hadn't made the fact that her forgetfulness would be her downfall in the class. Mrs. Johnson wouldn't accept that! Damn it! She needed the A! If she kept all A's then she could avoid the end of the year exam.

Looking at the clock on her phone that had now shown eleven thirteen, she, without wasting anymore time bolted from her bed. Then, she messily dressed in one of her jackets to throw over her worn t-shirt and took hold of her dirty converse.

Nyx, with jerky movements, sped out of her room and into the living room in an attempt to find sight of her aunt. She wasn't there. Not sitting curled up in the rocking chair, not laying sprawled across the couch, hell, Nyx even checked for a note. Still, there was no sign of her aunt.

After checking the kitchen, and the small upstairs which had been remade into a workplace, Nyx still came up empty handed.

Visibly disappointed, she went out the front door and onto the porch. Yet, it wasn't her aunt to greet her, no, just the crisp night air to wrap itself around her. Zipping up her jacket, Nyx looked around for the familiar blue Kia that usually sat near the side of the house. It was nowhere to be found. That left the question of where Lucy had gone . . . Nyx let out a shaky breath before reluctantly, she began her way off the porch, phone in hand as a few fives sat tucked away in its case, a great idea in her opinion.

Taking one last glance around, she moved forward, shivering as the dew covered grass quickly began to coat the fabric of her shoes and dampen her mismatched socks. She shivered, it was much warmer inside . . . That thought alone almost tempted Nyx to go back inside and fall asleep and miss school the next day. Though, she had quickly brushed away that thought, the school had specifically told her aunt that Nyx was absolutely not able to miss any more of her classes unless she wanted to receive a few threats of being arrested for such. Not that they would actually follow through . . . Not her school anyway, they would only 'Bitch and moan' about it, her aunt's words, not her own. Either way, aunt Lucy had expressed her opinion about the outcome and Nyx didn't dare push it.

Nyx quickly checked her phone, looking for any texts from her aunt and when she didn't see one, she sent a quick one out asking where her aunt was. Nyx seemed to stare at the device for what seemed to be hours, waiting for a text back, or even, at the very least, an indication that she was online. After a few minutes of standing around, without a text sent back, she pressed the power button, put in a set of earbuds and began her walk to the closest store.

Said store was about a good ten or fifteen minutes down the road by bike. Though . . . Her bike at the time had a flat tire and not to mention the black widow infestation under the seat and in the handle bars. It would seem that she would be walking quite a bit, maybe a good twenty-five to thirty minutes if she was lucky. Even then, she would be walking at a faster pace, she wasn't very fond of walking in the middle of the night, especially when most of the way was near the woods.

Without further delay, she began walking, her eyes focused solely on the lit up road ahead. The light was the only thing that kept her moving forward. The night was dark and her legs had begun to burn from exhaustion only after the first ten minutes. Not to mention, once she began to sweat and the fine curls of her hair began to stick to the side of her face constantly, she quickly pulled it back into a mediocre bun that served the only purpose of keeping her hair back.

Nyx kept at her task, though, at even the slightest sound such as a twig snapping, she would stop, listen and then run forward a few paces. Afraid of looking behind her and finding something unpleasant looking back, she simply rushed her actions, her breathing becoming accelerated. She would get through this.

The amount of solace she felt was almost unbelievable as she finally stepped into the air conditioned store with bright, fluorescent lighting up the simple set up. The dark woman, probably a teenager, slouched behind a desk with an iPhone's bright pink phone case on display while the cashier's face was hidden behind the screen. Nyx couldn't seem to help the faint smile that grew with her sense of comfort as she walked passed a few isles before finding the small section of shelves dedicated to small crafts and such.

She had looked over the small set up at least five times without luck. Her shoulders sagged visibly as agitation began to build, she had walked all this way to not find what she needed! Hell, looking at the clock up on the wall, it was thirty minutes til one! She was supposed to be done and over with the project, worrying about what to say and how to present it in front of fourteen other classmates! Biting her bottom lip in order to keep her spike of frustration at bay, she continued looking, music playing in her ears in attempt to ease her emotions down a bit.

Another few minutes passed by and she had snatched the earpiece from her ear and rising from her previous crouching position to look toward the front counter. If she couldn't find it, maybe she would have luck with simply asking the worker. Although, instead of walking forward to the front of the store, her mouth fell open slightly and her body frozen in place as she watched the cashier stand, hands raised, tears streaming down her cheeks as her chest heaved.

Blaming her music for her ignorance, in which she had turned up since the store's music was slightly annoying and not at all her taste. All Nyx could do was stare, as the cashier eyed the barrel of the pistol, flinching when it was moved in a jerky fashion and the stranger shouted something akin to money. Nyx took a moment to collect herself, her shaky hands fumbling with her phone as she quickly keyed in the four digit password. Never in her life had she been so hate filled toward a measly password or her phone, not thinking once to simply slide up to immediately contact the police. She wasn't calm, her mind was going haywire.

She let her fingers shakily press the green phone icon before typing in the emergency contact information. She messed up several times and by the third time she was crying herself, she finally pressed the three digits and called. A shaky sigh of relief found her lips as she heard the sound of an operator's voice on the other side of the phone. She felt her legs give out, causing her to fall to the ground in what was a mixture of relief and terror. "9-1-1, what's your emergency?" Nyx spoke quickly and held up the mic attached to her earbud, "T-There's a man trying to rob the store-," her eyes watered further and her throat seemed to be closing as she spoke in choked up words.

"What was that?" The girl almost cried harder at the question, "A robbery! At the general store right off the highway, near the Attendance center." The operator had gone quiet for a moment before speaking again, "Alright, calm down, I need you to stay-" a gunshot interrupted the clearly male voice on the phone as Nyx flinched and covered her mouth to withhold a scream. The booming shot was followed by a distinct thud against the counter and then the floor, she didn't even want to imagine what had happened, she wanted to stay oblivious, painfully oblivious.

"What was that? Can you tell me what that was?" The girl shut her eyes tightly and took a few long moments before speaking again, "I think she's dead . . . the man shot her-" Looking from her place behind the shelf, she found the strange clad in black shaking with what she assumed to be anger. That alone scared her. She didn't see that poor cashier though, she didn't want to either.

"Oh my god, he shot her! He really shot that girl!" it had been as if she hadn't quite caught onto the situation at first until a few moments after. "Please, you have to help . . . that man he's still here and he's not leaving . . ." Her voice was scratchy from crying and her throat sore as another sob tore through her body. This couldn't of been happening.

Nyx would have continued had she not heard the thudding footsteps of the murderer began to come closer and closer to her hiding spot at the back of the store.

They knew, they had to, there was no other reason for them to come looking otherwise.

The problem with her position was that of distance between her and the front door, she had never hated being in one place so much, not even school.

Something fell from the other side of the shelf she was hiding. Her anxiety felt crippling at the moment, though, her will to live was stronger, and so, causing her to do irrational things, such as getting up and attempting to run to another isle. For a few moments, she was close, so very close.

Somehow, she had made it to the front of the store, a booming, scratchy voice shouting behind her. That wasn't enough, she needed to keep going.

So close, she touched the metal of the door, then, white hot fire spread from her torso and throughout her body. It was like the feeling of fire that ripped and tore at her skin, causing it to burn and give off the scent of burning flesh. Such a smell made her want to gag.

She had been shot. Nyx Young had just been shot in the store for a damn poster . . . Wow, what a stupid reason.

Her breathing had become ragged and her legs had failed to support her any longer as she slid to lay against the cold, tile floor. The said door had been parted slightly to let in a stream of fresh air inside.

Though, the smell of bleach was still fresh from its last cleaning . . . huh, she always doubted they even cleaned the floors . . . She had been so close.

Her hand reached to feel the fresh wound decorating her body, the ever so quick blood trickling from her wound and through shaking fingers that weakly clutched to the fabric of her shirt.

Her mind had not quite caught onto the situation yet, causing her to harshly breathe, and then sending her into a fit of coughing. She felt like she was trapped, she couldn't breathe. Had she really been hit? Was her chest really bleeding or was this a painfully detailed dream? Did she accidentally take too much sleep medicine again?

No . . . even then she wasn't so cold, so aware of her surroundings.

Tears gushed from her eyes, she was beginning to get more and more tired, she just wanted to sleep.

As the time passed, the more she coughed and eventually she had begun to spit bright red liquid from her mouth, the sight alone made her breathing harsher and more ragged. She knew she was supposed to stay calm, stay calm and figure things out rationally.

What time was it again? She tried to glance over at the clock, it was a blur.

The forgotten operator had been repeatedly asking what had happened and where she was, or was she alright. She couldn't find the strength to speak, her lips merely quivered.

She squinted forward, toward the expanse of the tiled floor. It was so cold, making her think of ice, very cold ice. She shivered lightly, it was so cold even with her jacket.

Her body tingled with a sort of numbness she had never felt before, it was draining.

Hazy eyes looked around with blurred vision making Nyx squint.

Was she really going to die here? It was almost a foreboding thought that she was so at peace at the moment and yet, her mind rebelled against it.

Admittedly she didn't want to die, as much as she joked around with her friend, it was never true.

It was so scary, no, terrifying. The worst sense of fear causing her to suck in a harsh breath before moving her arms to force herself to sit up. She was supposed to graduate next year, in the spring . . . No, happy thoughts, calm down, she is going to graduate this year.

And she was making progress until her palm had made contact with the slimy blood that had collected on both the floor and her hand, causing her to fall back down in a rough motion and sending a jolt of pain throughout her body.

At the moment, it was so tempting to fall asleep. Just a small nap.

To give in was tempting, she wasn't in control anyways, and there was no one there to help. No one to help, she wished so much that she could hug her aunt at the moment, so she could make it better. Aunt Lucy was always good at that.

Napping always helped when Nyx didn't have anyone to depend on.

And so, her eyes slipped to shut, cutting off the flow of tears.

Opening her eyes she felt a frantic pair of hands putting pressure on her wound, the blob mixed with bright blue called out but she couldn't hear them clearly enough to know what exactly they said.

How long had she been there?

The man clad in black was nowhere to be seen. Had he left? Where did he go? That didn't matter now.

She remembered trying to speak, trying to ask for help, ask for them to save her because she didn't want to die.

She was scared, so scared. Her weak hand which had fallen to the cold floor, had flinched just barely when she attempted to move.

Her eyes threatened to close for a second time, and before she could even fight it, they shut close.

That time, she had taken in a slow, shaky breath before letting it all go.

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Yet another note~

Hello again! Sorry for all of the sadness so far, I will be trying to make things happier and lighter from here on. I hope you enjoyed, though, I'm not so happy with how I paced this. Maybe I could figure something out to improve.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note!

Alright, if you don't normally read author's notes, please do for this chapter. I will be making Yuri (or Yuuri), Viktor, and a few others speak/ write in English. I did not decide this without doing a bit of research though. Throughout the subbed series, there are various parts where a character will either speak or text in English. I won't go into much detail but here's a link in case you get curious and want to know more- post/152742643717/wait-people-seriously-doubt-the-assumption-that. Yes, it is a post from Tumblr but it makes sense to me and I hope you understand as well. Also, I will be using google translate for the Japanese in the chapter, I can't say I will use it every chapter though. And yes, I'm well aware that Hasetsu is in Japan.

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The blonde's head lolled to the side before falling roughly jerking upwards, causing the girl to wake up from her disoriented girl let out a shaky breath before looking around in confusion. A moment passed and then another, she placed her forearms on her lap, palms of if her hands facing upwards as her eyes stared at her once crimson fingers. The realization hadn't kicked in until a few long moments stretched, her hazy gaze staring on. Her fingers were clean, and after slowly looking at her shirt as well, it was also clean, there was no evidence of the previous night.

She looked up, shaky fingers briefly touching her jacket as if to make sure that there was no bullet hole near the chest, she found nothing but a freezing metal strip that was sealed together by the zipper that hung at the very top. It had been as if the night hadn't happened at all, she was fine. It was all just a long and elaborate dream that had actually gotten her to believe she was actually dying. Maybe a talk with her doctor would help her figure out just what had happened, for all she had known, she had probably taken one too many pills before bed.

Nyx shut her eyes for a moment before breathing in, she was alive. Her unusually chapped lips stretched to smile, she wasn't dying. It was all really just a dream. That had her scared for a moment.

"Sono shōjo wa daijōbudesuka?" The hushed words of a girl passing by had caught Nyx's attention, and not for the content of what was said, no, for how it was said. Sono . . . What? Nyx had caught absolutely nothing of what was said. Then, as if things hadn't been bad before, the ravenette girl's friend had responded back in the same gibberish, "Dōsureba wakaru nodesu ka?" What . . . It was gibberish to her ears and that alone made her feel worse.

Now that she had really looked around, Nyx didn't recognise anything, nothing made sense. She stood up abruptly, turning around and looking from side to side for any sign. All she could see was the ocean, a road, green trees on a mountainside, even a few with pink speckled about, though, she was just as clueless as she was before looking around.

And just like that, she was back to feeling lost and afraid. Tears stung her eyes and by then, she was sure she looked just as bad as she felt. At the moment she wanted to scold herself for being so easy to tear up. She was never one much for crying and she wasn't about to be. Her chest heaved and she felt as if walls were closing in on herself, she needed a distraction and needs one quickly. She blinked, bit her tongue before trying to find something to focus on.

The roaring ocean behind her with the perfect mix of seagull calls had been the thing to help. Think, think of the time she had last been to the beach. She took in a slow breath, it was warm and fun. She had gone with her cousins during summer break. She hadn't been staying focused on the time she stood there, thinking of the bright white sand and the ever so clear blue waters.

When she was in a lighter mindset, Nyx shifted her focus, first, she needed to know where she was at in order to figure out where she needed to go. Maybe if she knew something rather than nothing, she could remain calm. That, she felt, would help immensely. Yes, she would figure something out, after all, she could manage.

Taking in a deep breath and shutting her eyes, she let her muscles fall relaxed as she could manage. The least she could do was try. Just try to keep calm enough to find a person to ask. No, that wasn't the first priority, she needed to figure out an excuse that wouldn't seem too strange . . . That was if there was even a person there that would understand her . . . She was a lost tourist . . . ? One that had managed to lose her things maybe? Was that believable enough?

It would have to work for now because Nyx felt as if any sort of failure on her part would make her break down in the middle of nowhere. On the bright side of that little situation the ocean would drown out her cries so that she wouldn't create such a scene. Nyx always did hate garnering the attention of others. She clutched her jacket sleeves that covered her fingertips by an inch, a comfort measure on her part. She could do this, just have patience.

Then, letting out a shaky sigh, she approached her first attempt, the group from before, they were one of the only people around at the moment anyhow. She tried to appear all together and confident when she finally was able to catch up with them, "Hello?" Her voice had come out quiet, drowned out by the ocean beside herself.

Anyhow, Nyx clearly had not spoken loud enough as the duo continued to walk, remaining ignorant to the blonde who had been walking behind them. She tried again, only this time louder, "Um, excuse me? Excuse me!" She had gotten their attention . . . Though, they both seemed to be rather confused with a mix of shock there as well- it would seem that they had known just about how much she knew when they were speaking, absolutely nothing at all. Well, she tried.

If only to satisfy the 'what ifs' that threatened to plague her mind if she left, "Do you know where the nearest hotel is?" It was a reasonable question and where there was was hotel, there was no doubt a phone to call with as well. The two girls still seemed just as dumbfounded as before, only looking her up and down- they probably thought she was sick . . . Nyx couldn't blame them either, after all, it must have been strange to see a foreign girl walking about with tangled hair and dark eyes speaking a totally different language than they had probably ever heard.

The girls looked to one another with a sort of suspicion, Nyx had to act fast or she wouldn't be able to find anything useful at all. She looked over her shoulder for a moment before eyeing the trees and surrounding buildings, though, only one stood out. It was a tall, immaculate structure that had reminded her of the buildings in old Chinese movies that her aunt seemed to enjoy far too much for it to be healthy.

At the thought of her aunt she felt a twinge of guilt, was she doing alright? And if the last night had been real, if she was currently planning a funeral rather than that couple's wedding . . . Shaking away her thoughts and briefly scolding hers for letting her mind wander, she blinked before turning, her arm raised to point at the Chinese building.

Nyx looked back to the pair, or at least, where they had been before she had gone into her world of thoughts. Well . . . That was pointless . . . She then let her arm fall limp at her side and the other hand coming to run through the messy tangles of her hair. Maybe . . . Maybe she could. . . Nyx couldn't finish her thoughts as she was stuck with the fact that she didn't know.

Back at square one and sitting on the bench, the lonely bench that creaked whenever she moved and caused her to constantly shift due to its less than comfortable feeling. Her fingers gripped at the pair of sweats she wore as to stop their shaking. She was alright, she was just lost. Geez, she needed to calm down, she was alive and she wasn't too hungry, she would get through this.

Nyx eventually let go of her pants before shoving her hands into her pockets before flopping back against the wooden structure. She huffed, what to do, what to do . . . her fingers coming to feel the familiar curve of plastic before she gently grasped them and took them to examine. She was both pleasantly surprised and confused by the appearance of her horned glasses, though, instead of dwelling on the details that would only serve the purpose of making her worry, she simply took them and placed them on her face. At least now she could avoid any migraines that would have undoubtedly come.

Then, she slouched and shut her eyes, her fingers clutching the fabric of her jacket, if her glasses had made it, then maybe her phone had as well. To be fair, her glasses had been thrown when she had fallen the night before and her phone thrown a few paces away as well, so she had about the same chance of finding her phone as she did finding her glasses. She dug in her pockets once again, though, she wasn't able to find anything other than lint and an old piece of gum, which she had roughly shoved back into her pocket for later use. What? It was still alright and if it came to it, she would chew the gum in hopes of convincing herself that she wasn't hungry. Still, that hadn't changed that fact that she had no phone . . . And no phone meant no money, and she couldn't understand a word anyone was saying . . . Great, just great. The least her phone could've done was roughly translate words for her . . .

With that, she let her body slide to the side before hitting the wooden surface of the wood, it was cold against her cheek and her neck felt awkward with how her shoulder lifted up part of her body, causing her to place a hand beneath her head. Uncomfortable, but it wasn't the ground, so that was a plus. What else was she really going to do? It wasn't as if she could walk into town and hope for the best, what if she got lost? She shut her eyes and tried to silence her thoughts.

And for the next fifteen minutes, she laid there, cold, agitated and conflicted. Her eyes opened again, maybe, at the very least, she could find a better place to sleep . . . Or better yet, maybe a stranger willing to trust her enough with their phone so she could contact her aunt. Maybe not the second option but the first seemed more realistic in her opinion. If she was being honest, she probably wouldn't lend her phone to even her friend for not than a minute let alone a complete stranger.

Sitting back up, she stretched a bit before popping her back and getting up from the bench to begin the long and exhausting walk to the town. Well, she hoped that she was heading in the right direction by going toward the giant building. Though, she had begun to have her doubts.

Roughly twenty minutes into her trek, she was able to spot a figure in the distance holding a pole over the metal railing. She sped up her pace and before long she was actually running Nyx had slowed her pace once she was close enough to not seem so rambunctious. She didn't need to scare a potential help but appearing too off.

Once she was close enough to speak with the man, she had paused in her actions, fingers grasping at her jacket, she tried again with a greeting of sorts, "Hello? Excuse me, sir." To her relief, the man had turned and smiled lightly, causing her stance to relax, "Do you know," she pointed to the largest building, "Where that is?"

The man tilted his head in a confused manner before looking in the direction she had pointed, "Hasetsu shatō?" Nyx may have not quite been able to understand the exact words he spoke but she was almost positive that it was a name she could put to the building. At least she had that. If she got lost, she would simply refer to Hasetsu . . . She hoped that was what the building was called.

The girl looked to the strange building before nodding in its direction, "Is that Hatsetsu . . . Shato?" To which the man nodded his head yes, despite the woman's clear mispronunciation of the last word. Nyx would have cringed any other time had she went and said something wrong, especially if speaking in a completely different language where even the slightest of mispronunciation could mean something different. To her complete and utter relief he must have clearly gotten the message that she was very unfamiliar with even the simplest phrases.

She nodded to herself, quickly taking note of the building's name, now she had a general location to anchor on if she needed to go anywhere else, "Do you know anywhere that I can stay . . . Er sleep," how she wished she had taken time to place charades, maybe she would have been better at expressing her words, no matter how embarrassed she would feel about it later, "for the tonight?" She had placed both hands, palms together under the tilted underside of her head as if to further help the man figure out what she was saying.

Although the man looked over at her in confusion before he shook his head lightly, lightly struggling his shoulders in a way she had clearly understood as his oblivious nature toward what exactly she was trying to say. To be frank, he had gotten absolutely nothing. She couldn't deny the sense of disappointment that filled her at the action, though, now she had a little bit to go off of. At least she tried.

With that, she smiled lightly and thanked him, even if he didn't understand what she said. Nyx turned to look at the massive building that seemed to tower over the rest of the town. Maybe she should stop by there first? It couldn't hurt and she would be taking down multiple possibilities of other places along the way.

Looking back down the bridge, the blonde had found one of the nearest building to be nearby, though, in the opposite direction of the imaginary marker placed over the Hasetsu place. It would do her good to at least try and at least eliminate one of the possibilities. That and it would be a sort of tedious thing to go everywhere but the closest building first.

Hell, maybe along the way, she would figure something out but until then, she would continue to walk throughout the area, up until she had finally come across a set of stairs that led to a building that had the bold white letters that spelled out 'Ice Palace.' That hadn't been what really caught her attention though, the fact it was written in English amazed her!

She quickened her pace forward, jumping up an extra step in her haste. Nyx could, hopefully, find a person inside that could understand her. In her mind, she was bubbling with excitement and hope. Hope that she would find something.

Maybe the first try would be her luck. She could figure things out! She could call home!

But . . . What if that didn't work?

Damit, she needed to stop doing that, dark and otherwise foreboding thoughts unwelcome! She could do just as well without them. Nyx could do this, she took in a breath before letting it out.

Before she had known it, she was standing in front of the glass doors, she hesitated, what if . . . What if she, by the end of her search, was still lost? She took in another, shaky, breath before going to push the door open, only to find that it was actually automatic, a bright shade of scarlet coated her face and the tips of her ears at the realization. Only she would be the one to try and attempt opening an automatic door by pushing it. Only she would do that.

Trying to walk off her sheepish mood, she attempted to look around the new building. She found herself looking around at the small decorations and advertisements every so often around the room, there was even a paper that displayed work hours. The colors around the room weren't too new so the blonde could tell the establishment wasn't the newest among others. She needed to focus.

With clenched fingers, she reassured herself for the upteenth time, it would be alright. Then, she walked to the desk, and looking behind it, she found various rows of skates and not the ones with wheels at the bottom, no, those were the ones she had only seen in movies. The shiny blades always seemed to intimidate her, she had been able to rollerblade at one point so balance wasn't so much a problem, it was the mass of 'what ifs' that scared her. What if a kid fell and she wasn't paying attention, boom, lawsuit against her for cutting off their pinky finger. What if she were to fall and then get her pinky cut off? She knew that certain hospitals were capable of reattaching the finger but still . . . Why would someone ever want to be the one without a finger, even for a few agonising hours? She shivered just thinking about it.

Aside from her little worries, she had taken into account that since this clearly wasn't a skate shop, it was most likely a skating rink. That and there had been many benches set aside for people who would have been putting on skates, along with many small lockers along the wall. When Nyx looked over the counter to find no one there, she had assumed that maybe the worker was tending to something or just not paying attention. It wouldn't be the first time.

The girl looked to the desk for any sort of bell that would help notify the person working that she was there and when she didn't find one, she was slightly at a loss. Well, she would need to get their attention somehow . . . She leaned over the counter slightly before calling out, "Hello? Anybody-" She almost jumped out of her skin when the worker had jumped from behind one of the skate racks, "Kon'nichiwa! Don'na goyōdeshou ka?" The girl blinked lightly at the somewhat energetic greeting she had received from the brunette woman behind the counter, dressed in what Nyx assumed to be a uniform. Though, she wasn't completely sure.

Having absolutely no idea what the woman had said, she waved lightly, "Hey . . . I need some help." Nyx could feel the woman examining her somewhat pitiful form while she spoke. The foreign girl deflated slightly when the woman hadn't shown any indication that she had gotten any of what she had said . . . Huh. . . Maybe first try wasn't so lucky after all.

"Sorry," the girl spoke softly before turning to leave, might as well start somewhere else if this was not the place . . . "Chottomatte! Watashi o wasurenaide, chottomatte kudasai!" The enthusiastic woman had called out, giving the blonde the scare of her life for a second time, had she done something? Though, looking at the woman's face, she wasn't angry so that couldn't be it . . . Then again, the woman's face was now lit up by the phone screen whilst she tapped away.

Wait . . . What was she . . .? Nyx's confusion was clearly displayed as she watched the woman actions. She had never quite found a person so. . . Upbeat? Was that the word she was looking for? The woman's face lit up with a smile before she turned the phone to Nyx, the familiar platform of a memo pad set on the screen a cursor blinking idly. Yes, upbeat was definitely a good word to describe this trusting woman. If the woman couldn't understand what she was saying, how could she understand writing any better? Well . . . It was worth a shot despite the obvious flaws. Nyx looked to the device, though there was the slightest problem with the keyboard.

The keyboard wasn't quite what she was used to. . . The characters were a lot of lines placed together rather than the usual a through z letters. Nyx didn't really didn't want to be the one to burst her bubble of positivity but, "I . . .uh, I can't understand that . . ." The teenager had shook her head slightly when she spoke, shrugging her shoulders a bit as well.

Nyx was left nervous when the woman stared at her for a few more moments before turning the phone back at herself and a look of embarrassment replaced the one of excitement for a few moments before she went back to pressing buttons and before long, she had turned the phone back to Nyx. The blonde looked at the device for a moment before stepping forward a bit and typing what she had been trying to ask others before.

'I need a place to stay for the night,' Nyx had decided to leave out too much detail as to avoid any confrontation from that woman. That and she was still in doubt that the woman could actually understand what exactly she typed so she simply stated what she really needed at the moment. There was no need to elaborate unless asked anyhow, that and lying made her feel a bit off. A place to stay the night . . . A hotel would've worked but . . . Without her phone . . . She didn't even have two pennies to rub together. It would seem her luck had run out there. That sucked . . . Her phone had all of the music she wanted to listen to as well.

The woman had turned the phone to read, looking to Nyx every so often for any indication that she may have been lying, or so the blonde had assumed. Maybe it could have been the way she looked at the moment. Definitely an option. To be honest with herself, Nyx would probably laugh at the way she appeared.

A smile caused the blonde to look at the stranger suspiciously, what was she thinking . . . ? Nyx was almost tempted to take a step back in fear of the woman's intentions that would cause her such joy. Then, the woman smiled to the screen before typing away at what Nyx assumed to be the keyboard of her phone before turning it back around to face Nyx. Shock took her body when she found that the girl could, in fact, understand her and write in her language as well.

Nyx had never been so happy to see someone text an English message before, she read over the words carefully. It had been almost baffling at how well this stranger could type out in fluent English and yet, she couldn't speak it. Had she not known any better, Nyx would have mistaken this woman to be almost as fluent in English as she was. That didn't matter at the moment though, all that had mattered was that she had found someone she could communicate with without playing charades.

Happiness aside, the teenager looked over the message one last time before shaking her head lightly, no, she did not have any nearby relatives. Obviously, it was just a question to be sure of what options were on the table but that still had made the blonde feel slightly stumped. She didn't have anyone there and that was obvious, then again, she didn't even know where 'here' was. Nyx couldn't help but to nibble at her lip.

While she had been lost in her thoughts, the brunette had added to her statement before showing Nyx once again,'Is there someone you can call?' to which she nodded enthusiastically. Her heart picked up it's pace, yes . . . Yes! She could call home! Aunt Lucy would be so happy to hear her! Aunt Lucy could come get her and everything would be alright! Then, when she got home, she go back to how things were! Well . . . Maybe not the last one but at the very least she would hear her aunt's voice.

And after a few moments, the girl had taken the phone, turned it to herself before turning it back for Nyx to see when she finished. Nyx didn't show hesitation when gently taking the phone and typing the ten digit number before calling, a distinct beep sounding for every individual number. She looked to the worker for a brief moment, smile on display as she leaned against the counter as if to assure the stranger that she wouldn't take off with the device.

The phone rang several times before finally attempting to go to voicemail . . . Too bad aunt Lucy never really did set up her voice mail . . . The blonde looked to the phone before redialing and listening to the phone ring for several times. The repetitive actions continued for more than seven times before Nyx just couldn't anymore. Giving the device back to its owner, Nyx smiled sheepishly before shrugging lightly and hoping the woman would understand the gist.

Thankfully, it seemed like she had understood, and now, with a stumped expression, the woman sighed lightly before her face set in a determined expression. The both of them sat there for what seemed to be a few minutes. Now . . . How would they do this . . . Her aunt wasn't answering the phone and she didn't have any relatives nearby . . . The brunette woman placed a hand on her chest before speaking what Nyx assumed to be her name, "Nishigori, Yuuko." The blonde smiled lightly, before pointing to herself as well,"Nyx Young." while her introduction had been a bit less extravagant, the woman, Nishigori still nodded her head in approval.

Even if she hadn't been able to call home, Nyx was still happy that she was able to at least find someone who could understand her to an extent. At the very least, she could count her blessings. And that she did, which had made her mood take a turn for the better.

Nishigori smiled before testing out the name on her tongue, "Nyx." While it did sound slightly different than the way Nyx had spoken her name, the blonde found it slightly adorable when Nishigori spoke. It was something along the lines of nik-su. Nyx nodded slightly, "Nishigori," before smiling, now, what to do was the real question.

Nishigori seemed to have that answer already covered as she quickly moved around the counter before taking hold of the blonde's jacket sleeve and gesturing for her to follow behind her. And follow she did, Nyx had followed her behind the counter and then to a chair sitting in a far corner. Nishigori was going to have her sit in a chair? Well . . . To be fair it made sense, she couldn't just stop working just because a random lost person couldn't find a place to stay and just sitting out front wouldn't really be very wise . . . Especially if she was going to be there for a while.

Nishigori let go of Nyx's sleeve and typed on her phone before displaying it for Nyx to read, 'I will leave you here, though, if you really need to, you can go and explore a little. There's a rink passed the doors if you feel frisky.' The blonde smiled before hesitantly moving in a slight gesture for her to take the phone to type a bit herself and compliant, Nishigori handed the touchscreen to Nyx.

Trying to be quick as possible, she typed a few words, 'Thank you. Is there a notepad that I could use?' Even though asking someone for something made Nyx feel slightly guilty, it would be necessary, that way, she would be able to write out what she was saying without having to use the woman's phone. After that, Nishigori took the phone from Nyx's grasp before nodding slightly and turning to leave.

It hadn't taken long for Nishigori to return back with a clipboard and blue pen before leaving, only that time, she wasn't going to come back for a bit. And just like that, Nyx was up and looking around, she simply couldn't stay put! New places were her weakness, especially when she had never been to a place even remotely close to its function. It was time for her to relax a bit, and hope for the best. It was the only thing Nyx could really do in that situation.

During her little examination of the small room behind the front desk, she had found a clock that had closely resembled the one back at her home, ticking away with the hour and minute hands pointing to create the six forty seven mark. Well, at least now she knew the time. Maybe not the month or day, by she knew the time. Nyx curiously walked around the various skate racks, running her finger along the cold silver blades in a relaxed manner. Even slightly dull, she could still imagine the pinky incident, only now, with more screams and pain. At least her mind could focus on something other than the depressing thoughts, right?

Before long, she had already explored what the room had to offer, not that there was much to look at either . . . The small room had only caught her attention for so long before she had practically seen it all, she had even looked at all of the individual numbers on the lockers! The she even counted the exact amount of lockers as well! Though, admittedly . . . She may have simply multiplied but still.

Nyx maneuvered her way around the racks before finally exiting the room passing by Nishigori along the way, though, she was probably too busy to even acknowledge Nyx's departure. Not that the girl minded either, Nyx was content with being unnoticed, in fact, she was at her best when people weren't looking. Nyx had walked toward the set of doors that she had assumed to lead to the ice rink itself. Her curiosity grew, was it similar to the skating rink she had been to or was it completely different? If it was different, how different?

For a brief moment, Nyx looked back to make sure Nishigori wasn't looking before entering the massive area. The cool air nipped at her exposed cheeks and nose, wrapping around her form as she let the door gently close behind herself. Her eyes widen in a sort of amazement as she quickly made her way over to the barrier that separated the floor from the ice, her grey eyes taking in the view. There were a few people around, though, not too many to make Nyx feel suffocated, maybe about ten or twelve if she was to come up with a number off the top of her head. Not a bad number for it to be so late, from the poster out front, she could assume the rink would be closing around seven.

Her fingers grasped the material of the barrier, watching for a few moments as little ten-year-olds laughed and skated about with the confidence that Nyx needed severely. There were also the older adults that skated at slower, less flamboyant speeds and with less eagerness to do much else. The blonde was almost tempted to join by just how much fun the people on the ice seemed to be having, however, she didn't. Nyx had still felt the need to protect both herself and others by not joining, though maybe later . . . She gently twisted around the corner of an opening to the ice before touching it with her converse clad foot, only for it to slip and make her lose balance almost as quickly. Nope, nope, no, she would not. No, too different, she had not been on ice ever and that experience had scared her alone, no, just no. She quickly retreated from the ice, backing away quickly as of if it would attack if she wasn't fast enough.

Well, there went her later plans of testing ice skating, now she would have to further examine the vast room. Looking around, she found that even if the giant posters were written in the strange lettering, she was able to enjoy the art and entertain her mind as to what exactly was being advertised based on the pictures. And for the most part, she was able to entertain herself through either that or by drawing small doodles of the people in the rink on the paper provided by Nishigori.

Before she had known it, all of the others had left and she was alone, sitting against a wall, sketching random ideas down with the ballpoint pen. It wasn't as if she really minded, being alone, it gave her time to relax a bit and think things through. Though for obvious reasons, she was avoiding her thoughts by brushing them aside or making herself think of random song lyrics, and at some points, humming aloud.

Nyx however was quickly disturbed from her little relaxation session when she could basically feel the holes burning into the side of her head, the girl had paused a moment before looking up. The feeling seemed to disappear and Nyx simply shrugged off the feeling of having been stared at. By the third time, Nyx was positive that there was at least someone there with her. The fact that she couldn't find the person that watched her was unnerving, though, she didn't have a sick feeling as if they had malicious intent. Still . . . The night before, she hadn't felt the slightest bit bad and still . . . She didn't exactly make it . . . Or, at least not there.

"Hello?" She wasn't quite aiming to communicate more than it was to draw out the stranger watching her. When no one answered back or moved from their hiding place, Nyx took hold of her clipboard before standing up to gain a better vantage point. Still nothing . . . Well then . . .

The blonde turned to escape from the front desk to accompany Nishigori once again and hopefully get rid of the person that starred. At least, she was leaving until the sound of the door opening caught her attention, her head turned to look just as a black haired man walked in, followed by Nishigori. Maybe that was a boyfriend of hers? Nyx couldn't help but to make assumptions, or maybe just a good friend? Nyx couldn't be sure, though, what she was sure of was that they were still oblivious to her existence.

Nyx looked back around before quickly moving toward the pair, she had to at least believe that if there was another person in the building, she could group up with them in hopes of staying safe and as the saying goes, 'safety in numbers.' She would be sticking to that for quite a bit.

It was Nishigori that seemed to notice her first, waving and calling out before turning to her friend who had also taken notice of the blonde. Waving her over, Nishigori smiled brightly before speaking more words that the teenager simply couldn't understand, so she was left standing beside them awkwardly. What? It wasn't as if she could simply jump into the conversation and expect them to magically become capable of translating her words. So there she was, stuck in place when the boy had looked to her and spoke, how awkward it was when she tried to answer in English with nothing to go off of, "H-hello? It's nice to meet you." The nervous chuckle at the end of her sentence was what really gave away her feelings at the moment.

Then, the blonde took the clipboard and wrote a few words along the dark lines and Nyx tried to make her handwriting at least somewhat neat before displaying it to Nishigori, 'I don't understand . . . What did he say?' Nishigori smiled lightly before nodding to Yuri and speaking a few words to him. Then, she took the clipboard with the pen from Nyx's grasp, quickly jotting down a few words before handing it back. 'Yuri introduced himself and asked your name.' Nyx had been so sure he had spoken a bit more but who was she to judge? Maybe Nishigori was just giving her the general idea.

"Sorry . . .I didn't know you were only able to speak English, Yuuko didn't mention it either," The man seemed to be somewhat embarrassed when he spoke, although the teenager was actually relieved that she didn't have to be so embarrassed for what she had missed, "No worries, I was actually-" she cut herself off, her eyes widen slightly in shock. Did he just . . . ?

"What is it? Did I say something wrong?" The words came out rushed and somewhat panicked as the man tried to redeem himself. On the other hand though, Nyx couldn't quite contain her emotions when she smiled brightly, "No, no, it's nothing, I'm just surprised is all."

Talk about lucky, the girl was trying to hold back from hugging the total stranger. It was hard but manageable, she didn't need to scare away the only hope she had for information. That and it would have gotten lonely to think she was the only one that could speak English within a fifty mile radius- not correct but close to how she would have felt.

"I didn't know if anyone here would be able to understand me, let alone speak my language," she tried to explain further before finally introducing herself, "It's nice to meet you, I'm Nyx Young but Nyx is just fine." Nyx had never been the greatest with introducing herself, but that would have to do for now. She smiled lightly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything, please continue, I'll be over there if Nishigori asks." Nyx pointed over to the barrier just a bit away from the pair. The man, Yuri, had nodded, before continuing his previous conversation with Nishigori before Nyx had arrived.

With that she had taken a few steps back as she watched the pair continue toward the ice. Of course, she stayed close by, but she did keep her distance. She looked back down to her clipboard, taking the pen and beginning to sketch. At least until the sounds of metal on ice had stolen her attention, she looked up and found herself mesmerized.


End file.
